Reversing-gear for fluid-motors.



M. L ROBINSON. REVERSING GEAR FOR FLUID MOTORS.

APPLICATiON FILED AUGJU. 39!?- Patented July 2, 1918. Z SHEETS-SHEET I ATTORNEY INVENTOR WITNESS ATTORNEY Patented July 2,1918.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2- MINOR L. ROBINSON, OF TfILLA GROVE, ILLINOIS.

REVIEWING-GEAR FOR FLUID-MOTORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 'July 2, 1918.

Application filed August 10, 1917. Serial No. 185,537.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MINOR L. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Villa Grove, in the county of Douglas and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Reversing-Gear for Fluid-Motors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to reversing gears for fluid actuated motors and relates partic ularly to reversing gears for locomotives.

In the operation of a locomotive, especially in switching, it is necessary to reverse the valve gear very often. In reversing a locomotive in which the ordinary manual operating reversing gear is employed it is extremely inconvenient, and requires great manual effort, to reverse the valve gear due to the steam pressure in the steam chest as this is generally done without closing the throttle to save time, and if the throttle is first closed and the valve gear then reversed a great deal of time is consumed whereby this method of reversing is impractical.

My invention has for its primary object to provide a means for reversing the valve gear of a fluid motor, independently of the manual operating means therefor, whereby the engineer may easily and quickly reverse the valve gear.

A further object ofmy invention is to provide a means for reversing the gear of a fluid motor which is adapted to control the position of the valve gear independently of the position of the manual controlling means thereof.

A further object of my invention. is to pro vide a means for. reversing the valve gear of a fluid motor, which first breaks the operable connection between the manual means for reversing the gear, and then positions the valve gear in either forward position or reversed position as the operator may desire. said means being adapted, when moved to normal position to again reestablish an operable connection between the manual reversing means and the valve gear whereby the valve gear is again moved to its original position as defined by the manual reversing means.

\Vith these and other objects in view which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention consists in the novel construc tion and arrangement of parts illustrated in controlling valve of the device in forward position, Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the valve in neutral position.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the valve in reversed position,

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the link mechanism of the device, parts thereof being broken away to more clearly show the con struction of the same.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view through the pressure controlling valve.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts in the various views.

In the drawings 1 designates generally the frame of a locomotive and 2 designates generally a valve gear. The valve ear is of the well known Stevenson lin type, though my invention may be applied to any of the valve gears now in use. A detail description of the valve gear'js unnecessary in the disclosure of my invention, and it is only necessary to say that the timing of the valves is changed by moving an oscillating slide bar 3 in difl'erent positions relative to a slide block 4, engaged in the slide thereof, said slide block having operable connection with the valves of the motor through a fulcrumed lever 5 and a connecting rod 6. A bell crank lever 7 is pivotally mounted upon the frame 1 and has one of the arms thereof pivotally connected to a connecting link 8, the other end of said link being pivotally connected to the aforementioned oscillating slide bar 3 of the valve gear. A hand lever 9 has its lower end pivotally mounted upon the frame 1 and extends upwardlytherefrom. A sprin detent 10 is moved upon the lever 9 an is adapted to engage a toothed quadrant 11 mounted upon the frame 1, and a small latch lever 12 is mounted upon the upper end of said lever 9 and is operably connected with the spring detn'nt said link being pivotally connected 10, so that said detent may be retracted from engagement with the quadrant to move the lever 9 over the same. A rear reach bar 13 has its rear end pivotally connected to the lever 9 at a point intermediate the ends thereof, and extends forwardly therefrom, and has the other end thereof pivotally connected to the upper end of a slide link 14. A fore reach bar 15 has its front end pivotally connected to the other arm of the bell crank lever 7 and has its rear end bifurcated and embracing the slide link 14, a slide block 16,Which engages a slide 17 in said slide link, being pivotally mounted between the arms of said bifurcated end upon a stud 18 which is secured in said arms of the bifurcated end and extends across the inclosure of the same. A hanger lever 19 has its upper end pivotally mounted in the frame 1, and extends downwardly therefrom, and pivotally, engages the stud 18 exteriorly of the inner arm of the bifurcated end of the fore reach bar 15,. a retaining collar 20, mounted upon the adjacent end of the stud, serving to prevent the hanger lever from working out of engagement with said stud. A stop 21 is provided at the upper end of the slide link 14, and is adapted to engage the slide block 16 when the link is moved to its lowermost position, said stop being positioned that when the link is in its lower position the fore reach bar 15 and the rear reach bar 13 are in alinemcnt. Then the link 14 is in its lowermost position an operable connection is established between the fore reach bar 15 and the rear rcacn' bar 13 whereby the valve gear may be controlled throu h the lever 9. H i

22 esignates a cylinder which is mohnted upon the frame 1 and disposed longitudL nally respecting the same. A piston 23 is mounted in said cylinder, and a piston rod 24 is secured thereto and extends through the front wall of the cylinder, :1 stuffing box 25. mounted on said front wall of thecylindcr, encircling said piston rod to prevent linkage. A bell crank lever 26 pivotally mounted upon the frame 1, and a connecting rod 27 has its front end pivotally connected to one arm thereof and has its other end pivotally onnocled to the front end of the is ton rod 24. The other arm of said ell crank lever 26 is pivolally onnected to the lower end of a link 28, the upper Jand of to the slide link 14 at a point intermediate the ends thereof. When the piston rod 24 is at the rea r ended the cylinder "22 the slide link 14 is in its lower position. with the stop 21 ihuttiug the slide block 10, as shown in Fig. and when said piston is at the other end of said cylinder tlr slid! ll l f 14 is in its upper position. a ii-p :1? at th lmver ('nd Ll Wot.rugfu ziw'." he li li il 'k ll").

Ivl llirljilldw". hich is cylinder 30 and has a piston rod connection between said connecting rod 34 and the slide link being so disposed that, when the slide link is in its upper position with the stop engaging the slide block 16 the connecting rod 34 is substantially in a inement with the fore reach bar 15, as shown in Fig. 2.

35 designates generally a control valve which controls the admission of pressure into the cylinders 22 and 30 from a ressure tank 36 as will now be described. ressure is maintained in the pressure tank 36 in any approved manner, and a pipe 37 leads from said pressure tank to the valve 35. The valve 35 comprises a main body 38, in the bottom of which a valve disk 39 is mounted for rotation, the inner side surface thereof bearing against the bottom of an inclosure 40 formed in said body, and a cover 41 bolted to said body to form a pressure tight inclosure therewith. A stem 42 is mounted in said cover 41 for rotation and isdisposed in axial alinement with the valve disk 39, the inner end of said stem havin an angular portion 43, which'enga a 0t 44 in the outer surface of the v ve disk 39, to establish a driving connection therebetween. A flange 45 is formed upon the stem 42 and engages the inner surface of the cover, and the stem is held against lateral movement by said flange and the inner end of the stem abutting the bottom of the slot 44. A boss 46 is formed upon the cover 41 and encircles the stem 42, and a stalling box cap 47 of usual construction is screw threaded upon said boss to prevent leakage between the cover and the stem. The outer end of the stem 42 has in manipulating handle 48 mounted thereon which moves over a uadrant 49 mounted upon the cover 41. e series of depressions 50 are formed in the quadrant 49, and a spring latch 51 of usual construction is mounted upon the lever 48 and is adapted to engage various depressions in the series 50 as the hand lever is moved over the quadrant.

The valve disk 39, as before stated, lies in the bottom of the inclosure 40, and is spaced from the inner surface of the cover 41. The pipe 37 is screw threaded into the valve body 38 and conununicates with a passage 52 in the valve body which leads into the inclosure 4" above the valve disk. A pipe 53 communicates with the rear end of the cylhas inder 22 and leads to a port 54 formed in the bottom wall of the valve body 38. A pipe 55 communicates with the rear end of the cylinder and leads to-a ort 56 formed in the bottom of the valve b0 y'38. A pi e 57 communicates with the front end oftiie cylinder 30 and leads to a port 58 formed in the bottom of the valve body 38. A pi e 59 communicates with the front end of t e cylinder 22-and is branched at its upper end, and leads to a port 60 and a port 61 formed in the bottom of the valve body 38. A port 62 is formed in the side of the cylinder 22 a short distance from the front end thereof, and is adapted to be uncovered and communicated with the rear end of said 0 linder when the piston 23 is moved to the ront end thereof. A pipe 63 leads from said port 62, and has a check valve 64 therein, and communicates with the pipe 59 near the lower end thereof,

- is in registry with the Fig. 1. In order that t When the reversing gear is in the position as indicated in Fig. 1, which will hereafter be designated the neutral position, the piston 23 is positioned at the rear end of the cylinder 22, and the slide link 14 is in its lower position with the rear reach bar 13 in alinement with the fore reach bar 15, and the valve ear 2 is positioned by the hand lever 9. g port hole 65 is formed in the valve disk 39, and when the valve disk is positioned in neutral position said port 65 port 60, and pressure from the tank 36 is led through the pipe 59 into the front end of said cylinder 22, retaining the piston 23 at the rear end of the cylinder whereby the slide link 14 is retained in its lower position. It will be noted that when the reversing gear is in neutral posi- I tion, the position of the iston 31 within its cylinder 30 is immateria for the. lower end of the slide link 14 may be in any of its positions without having an appreciable effect upon the valve gear. e neutral pd sition of the reversing ear is indicated in e pressure may be relieved from the rear end of the cylinder 22, when the reversing gear is in neutral po sition, a radial. groove 66 is formed upon the lower surface of the valve disk 39, and a small pert 67, which communicates with the atmosphere, isformed in the bottom of the valve disk 39, and the groove .66 registers with the port 54 and the ort 67 to allow the pressure to flow out of the rear end of said cylinder through the ipe 53. The port 67 is relatively small so t at the piston 23 will not move too fast in the cylinder and hammer against the rear wall of the cylinder.

When it @is desired to control the valve gear 2 by means of the reversing gear the valve disk 39 is moved, by means of the handle 48, to either its forward or its reverse position. Assuming that the valve disk 39 has been moved to its forward posi tion, pressure is introduced ,into the rear end of the cylinder 22, and into the rear end of the cylinder 30, which is done in the following mannerz A port hole 68 is formed in the valve disk 39 and registers with the port 54 when the valve disk is in forward position. This introduces pressure into the fear end of the cylinder 22 and moves the piston 23 from'the front end thereof whereby the slide link 14 is moved to its upper position with the connection rod 34 in alinement with the fore reach bar 15. As the iston 23 reaches the front end of the cylin er 22 the port 62 is uncovered and pressure is led through the pi e 63 and check valve 64 into the pipe 59. ii radially disposed groove 69 is formed upon the bottom surface of the valve diski39 and is in registry with the ports 60 and 56 whereby pressure flows from the pipe 59 into the pipe 55 and into the rear end of the linder 30 to move the piston 31 to the rent end thereof whereby the fore reach bar 15 is moved to its forward position. In this position it is necessary to exhaust pressure from the front end of the cylinder 30 and a radial groove 70 is formed in the bottom of the valve disk 39 and registers with the port 58 and a restricted exhaust port 71, said port 71 beingrestricted to prevent the piston 31 from moving too fast within the cylinder and striking the end thereof, see Fig. 3. Assuming the valve disk-39to be in reversed position, it is necessary to move the piston 23 to the front end of the cylinder 22 and the piston 31 to the rear end of its cylinder 30. 'When in reversed position a port 72 is in registry with the port 54, and pressure is led through the pipe 53 into the rear end of said cylinder 22 to move the piston 23 to the front end thereof. When the piston 23 reaches the front end of its cylinder, the port 62 is uncovered and pressure is led through the pipe 63 and check valve 64 into the pi e 59. A tangen tial slot 73 is formed in the bottom surface of the valve disk 39, and registers with the port 61 and the port 58, when the valve is in reverse position, and pressure is led there through from the pipe 59 into the pipe 58,

and into the front end of the cylinder 30, and the piston 31 is moved to the rear end thereof whereby the fore reach bar 15 is moved rearwardly to its reverse position. \Vhen in reversed position it is necessary to exhaust the pressure from the rear end of the cylinder 30 and a tangential slot 74 is formed in the bottom of the valve disk 39, and registers with the port 56 and a restricted port 75, which communicates with the atmosphere, said port 75 being restricted so that the piston 31. does not move too fast within its cylinder and stri e the end thereof.

It will be noted that when the reversing gear is moved to either forward or reversed osition, and the piston 23 is moved to the rent end of the cylinder 22 pressure may pass through the port 60 andthe pipe 63 and the check valve 64 into the pipe 59, and flows into the front end of the cylinder 22 through the lower end of the pipe 59. This however, has no effect u on the piston 23 to allow the gravital ten ency of the slide link 14 to drop to its lower position and move the piston 23 to the rear end of the cylinder, as the piston rod 24 reduces the effective force of the pressure upon the side of the piston, said piston rod being of an enlar ed diameter to increase the difference in eii ectiveness of the pressure upon both sides of said piston.

It will be noted that the slide link 14 has a gravital tendency to return to its lowermost position, and that when said slide link is in its lowermost position the operation of the hand lever 9 or the valve gear 2 has no tendency to lift said slide link out of its lowermost osition. As a result, it is not necessary t at there be pressure in the tank 36 in order that the engine may be operated, and this is an important feature in the application of the device to locomotives, as they are often run without the air pumps being operated to generate pressure. In order that pressure may be cut off from the reversing gear I have mnstructed the valve 35 so that the valve disk 39 may be moved to a position intermediate the neutral and the forward, or neutral and the reverse positions where all of the port holes which, communicate with the upper ortion of the inclosure 40, are out of registry with the respective ports in the bottom of the valve bod whereby pressure is not allowed to enter tile cylinders of the reverse gear. In either of these positions the valve gear 2 may be controlled by the hand lever.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim 1. In a reversing gear for fluid engines, the combination with a manually operated reverse lever, of a fore reach bar having operable connection with said reverse lever, a link connected to said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar, a motor having operable connection with said link for normally maintaining said link in one position to establish an operable connection between said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar, a second motor having operable connection with said link, a controlling means for said motors adapted, when in one position to maintain said link in normal position, and adapted, when in other positions, to move said link out of normal position to establish an operable connection between said second mentioned motor and said fore reach bar and to actuate said second mentioned motor to position said fore reach bar.

In a reversing gear for fluid engines, the combination with a manually operated reverse lever, a fore reach bar having operable connection with the valve gear of the engine, a rear'reach bar having operable connection with said reverse lover, a link connected in said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar, a fluid actuated motor having operable connection with said link for normally maintaining said link in normal position to establish a driving connection between said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar, a second fluid actuated motor having operable connection with said link, a source of fluid energy, a multi-port valve communicated with said source of energy, pipes leading from said valve to respective fluid motors from respective ports of said valve, said valve being adapted, when in one position, to position said first mentioned fluid motor to maintain said link in its normal position, and adapted, when in other positions, to actuate said first mentioned fluid motor to move said link out of normal osition to break said Operable connection tween said fore and rear reach bars and to establish an operable connection between said second mentioned fluid actuated motor and said fore reach bar and to actuate said second mentioned fluid motor to position said reach bar.

3. In a reversing gear for fluid engines, the combination with a manually operated reverse lover, a fore reach bar having operable connection with the valve gear-of the engine, a rear reach bar having operable connection with said reverse lever, a link connected to said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar, a cylinder and a piston therein halvingoperable connection with said link and adapted when in normal position at one end of said cylinder to position said link in normal position and establish an operable connection between said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar, a second cylinder and a piston therein having operable connection with said fore reach bar, a source of fluid pressure, a multi-port valve communicated therewith, pipes leading from theends of each cylinder to the respective ports of said valve, a port in said fi'rst mentioned cylinder at the end thereof opposite the normal position of said piston adapted to be uncovered b said piston when moved to that end thereo a pipe leading from said port and communicating with the pipe leadin to that end of the cylinder, and a check vs vs in said pipe opening outwardly fromsaid port, said multi-port valve being adapted, when in one position, to lead pressure into that end of the cylinder through the respective pipe to maintain said piston in normal position, and, when in other positions to lead pressure to the other end of said first mentioned cylinder, and to communicate said pressure from said port to either end of the other cylinder.

4. In a reversing gear for fluid engines, the combination with a manually operated reverse lever, of a fore reach bar having opera ole connection with the valve gear of the engine, arear reach bar nivotally connected to said reverse lever, a slide link pivotally connected to said rear reach bar, said fore reach bar engagin the slide of said link, means for supporting said fore reach bar, a motor having osierable connection with said slide link {1TH adapted to move said link to engage said fore reach bar with different portions of said slide, a second fluid motor having operable connection with said slide link, said first mentioned motor being adapted to position said slide link to estab lish an operable connection between said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar or between said second mentioned motor and said fore reach bar, and means for controlling said motors.

5. In a reversing gear forfluid engines, the combination with a manually operated reverse lover, of a fore reach bar having an operative connection with the valve gear of the engine, a rear reach bar pivota-lly connected to said reverse lever, a slide link pivotally connected to said rear reach bar, said fore reach bar engaging the slide of said link, a pivoted hanger lever having its free end pivotally connected to said fore reach bar to support the same, a motor having operable connection with said slide link and adapted to move said link to engage said fore reach bar with diifercnt portions of said slide, a second motor having operable connection with said slide link, said first mentioned motor being adapted to osition said slide link to establish an operable connection between said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar or between said second motor and said fore reach bar, and means for controlling said motors.

6. In a reversing ear for fluid engines, the combination WEE a manually operated reverse lever, of a fore reach bar havlng operable connection with the valve gear of the engine, a rear reachbar pivotally connected to said reverse lever, a slide link having its upper end pivotally connected to said rear reach bar, said fore reach bar engaging the slide of said link, means for support-mg said fore reach bar, a motor having operable connection with said slide link adapted to move said link to engage said fore reach bar with difi'erent portions of said slide, a second fluid motor having operable connection with the lower end of said slide link, said first mentioned motor being adapted to osition said slide link to establish an opera le connection between said fore reach bar and said rear reach bar or between said second motor and said fore reach bar, and means for controlling said motors.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

MINOR L. ROBINSON. 

